Federal government plans to lease public lands for construction through new housing strategy

Housing Minister Sean Fraser has announced what he's calling an ambitious strategy to tackle Canada's housing crisis.

Fraser said Friday the strategy Canada's Housing Plan will buildmore homes, makerenting or buying a homeeasier and do more to support those who can't afford a place to live.

This is the Trudeaugovernment's secondnational housing strategy. In 2017, it launched a 10-year housing plan aimed at building 100,000 affordable housing units and repairing 300,000 affordable housing units.Fraser said the new measures will supplement the 2017 plan.

At a news conference in Vaughan, Ont. on Friday, Prime Minister JustinTrudeau said his government's latest effortisthe"most comprehensive and ambitious housing plan ever seen in Canada."

WATCH |Liberals pledge to build 3.9M homes by 2031:

Liberals pledge to build 3.9M homes by 2031

4 months ago

Duration 7:10

Power & Politics speaks to Housing Minister Sean Fraser as the Liberals lay out their full plan to address the housing crisis.

"It's a plan to build housing, including for renters, on a scale not seen in generations. We're talking about almost 3.9 million homes by 2031."

Canada would need to build 3.1 million homes by 2030 to close the housing gap, according to a reportby the parliamentary budget officer published Thursday.

Leasing public lands for affordable housing

Highlights of the new strategy include plans for the federal government tolease and build on underused public lands to make housing more available and affordable.

The strategy also promisesa new mapping tool to track the inventory of public lands.

"Where the public interest demands maintaining ownership of public land, the federal government will maintain ownership but make land available through long-term leases to ensure that land can be used for housing," Fraser said.

Details of the government's plans forpublic lands will be unveiled in Budget 2024 on April 16.

The government's latest strategy also includes a new Canada Secondary Suite Loan Program to give homeowners accessto low-interest loans of up to $40,000 to allow them to add secondary suites to their homes.

WATCH | Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks about new housing solutions:

Liberals release plan to build nearly 4M homes

4 months ago

Duration 2:05

The Liberal government released its strategy to build 3.9 million homes in the next seven years, dubbed the Canadian Housing Plan. It includes incentives for home builders, low-cost financing and opening up federal land for housing.

To prevent speculation and ensure that houses are being used as residences for Canadians, the government will be extending its ban on ownership of residential properties by foreign investorsuntil Jan. 1, 2027.

The government intends to increase the capital cost allowance rate for apartments from four to 10 per cent, which will boost the amount builders can write off on their taxes.

It's also extending the GST exemption on rentals to student residences built by public universities, colleges and school authorities. The measure will apply to new student residences that started construction on or after Sept. 14, 2023, and before 2031, so long as they are built before 2036.

Much of the plan has been released already

Severalinitiatives listed in Canada's HousingPlan areprojects the government has already announced,such as the elimination ofincome tax deductions for expenses incurredfor short-term rentals that contravene provincial or municipal regulations.

The Canadian Home Builders' Association welcomed the government's plan Friday, particularly its extension of the mortgage amortization limit to 30 years for first-time home buyers.

The association said in a news release that attaching housing conditions to transit funding and seeking to change the National Building Codeto speed up construction of housingunits show the government "recognized that a comprehensive approach is needed to address Canada's housing affordability crisis."

• What do you want to see in the next federal budget? Let us know in an email to ask@cbc.ca

In a statement to CBC News on Friday, Conservative criticScott Aitchisoncriticized the government's record on housing and the effectiveness of their proposed solutions.

"While Trudeau's ministers admit their photo op fund won't build even a single new home, common sense Conservatives will build the homes by punishing gatekeepers that block home building and rewarding those who get homes built."

On April 4, Trudeau previewed some of the housing commitments in Budget 2024, saying $1.5 billion would go toward helping non-profit organizations acquire rental units and keep them affordable. The Co-operative Housing Development Program, first announced in Budget 2022, will receive $1.5 billion in funding tolaunch this summer.

Another $15 billionwill be allocatedfor the Apartment Construction Loan Program, bringing available funding to $55 billion. The program is meantto build 30,000 new rental apartments in big cities, towns and rural communities.

New Democratcritic for housing Alexandre Boulericeexpressed frustration with the announcement, sayingTrudeau "disappointed Canadians by delaying measures to keep housing affordable" during his eight years as government.

"They're facing sky-high grocery prices and rent. They're seeing rich CEOs get richer off their backs while they scrimp and save," Boulerice said in a news release Friday. "People can't seem to get ahead."

Combined effortwith provinces

The Liberals' housing strategy depends in parton co-operation from provinces and territories, some of which have already pushed back on the federal government over what they argue is jurisdictional overreach.

In addition to setting aside $1 billion over four years for theReaching Home program a federal homelessness initiative the government will allocate$250 millionto helpend encampments and transition people into housing. Itiscalling onprovinces and territories to match that amount.

Quebec, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick were unhappy with Ottawa's decision to make access to new infrastructure money contingent on a set of conditions, including legalizing fourplexes.

But Fraser pushed back on those criticisms, arguing that Canadians just want the problemsolved.

"It was important that we do what we can to embrace the challenge and demonstrate to Canadians that even where there may be technical jurisdictional obstacles, that wasn't going to give us a reason to do anything less than the very best that we can," he said.